Draw bolt

ABSTRACT

A draw bolt for luggage, containers, receptacles or the like, cooperable with a hasp includes a loop member having one end slidably connected to guide rails on a mounting plate so that a manually operable latch member imparts both translational and rotational movement to the loop member, thereby causing the loop member to completely engage or disengage a hasp.

United States Patent Feinberg May 27, 1975 [541 DRAW BOLT FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Inventor: Irving Feinberg, 45 Taggart Way, 600,427 4/1948 United Kingdom 70/73 d e rook, 07662 699,929 11/1953 United Kingdom ..70 73 22 F1 N .2 ,1973 l 1 led 0v 0 Primary ExaminerRobert L. Wolfe [21] App]. No.: 417,643

[57] ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl 70/76; 292/247 A draw bolt for luggage, containers, receptacles or the [51] Int. Cl E05b 65/62 like, cooperable with a hasp includes a loop member [58] Field of Search 70/73, 74, 76; 292/113, having one end slidably connected to guide rails on a 292/114, 165, 232, 246, 247, 249, DIG. 31, mounting plate so that a manually operable latch DIG. 49 member imparts both translational and rotational movement to the loop member, thereby causing the [56] References Cited loop member to completely engage or disengage a UNITED STATES PATENTS p- 3,584,906 6/1971 Budzyn 1. 292/247 11 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures DRAW BOLT The invention relates to improvements in draw bolts, and is more particularly directed to a draw bolt of improved construction for affording complete engagement and disengagement of the draw bolts loop member with a hasp.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Draw bolts for releasably latching together the sections of a luggage case, container, receptacle or the like have long been in commercial use. In the usual draw bolt construction, the loop member is pivotally connected to the mounting plate and is free to rotate with respect thereto, the latch member controlling only the position of the axis of rotation of the loop member with respect to the mounting plate. Consequently, after the loop member has been moved outwardly from the mounting plate to unlatched position by means of the latch member, the loop member must be manually rotated upwardly with respect to the mounting plate so that a hasp is not obstructed as it is moved either away from the mounting plate for opening the luggage case or into position adjacent the mounting plate for closing the luggage case. Furthermore, before the luggage sections may be latched together it is necessary to manually rotate the loop member toward the mounting plate to a position from which it will move into engagement with the hasp when the latch member is moved to lowered position. Draw bolts of several constructions have been proposed for eliminating the above-described manipulative effort which is required to completely connect and disconnect the loop member and the hasp. As described with more particularity below, these draw bolts include a latch member which imparts a controlled path of movement to the loop member for causing the loop member to automatically and completely engage or disengage a hasp.

One such draw bolt is disclosed in British pat. No. 41 l,62l, granted June 14, 1934 to Peel. the draw bolt includes a mounting plate having a housing portion thereon, a manually operable latch member pivotally connected to the mounting plate, a loop member adapted to engage a hasp and being slidably received by an opening in-the housing, and link members for connecting the latch member to the loop member for controlling the position of the loop member in the housing. When the latch member is in its lowered position a substantial part of the loop member is received by the housing, causing the loop member to securely engage the hasp. When the latch member is moved to its raised position, the loop member is caused to slide out of the housing and, as the loop member is thus moved outwardly, an upper surface on the sliding loop member cooperates with the top surface of the housing for causing the loop member to be rotated about one end thereof. The resulting combination of translational and rotational movement of the loop member completely disengages the loop member from the hasp.

The draw bolt disclosed in British Patent No. 600,427, granted Apr. 8, 1948 to Padmore, is similar to the draw bolt disclosed by Peel in that it includes a housing portion on the mounting plate; however, rotational movement is imparted to the hasp-engaging member in a different manner. In the Padmore draw bolt, the sides of the housing include channels for controlling the vertical position of the enclosed end of the hasp-engaging member with respect to the surface of the mounting plate. When, by rotation of the latch member, the loop member is caused to move outwardly from the housing a predetermined amount for disengaging the hasp, the latch member by means of a link member forces the enclosed end of the hasp-engaging member downward toward the plate. Because the bottom surface of the hasp-engaging member is curved near this end, this downward force causes the loop member to be rocked or rotated upwardly away from the hasp for completely disengaging the hasp.

A third draw bolt, disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,584,906, granted June 15, 1971 to Budyzn, differs from the draw bolts of Peel and Padmore in that it does not include a housing on the mounting plate for imparting rotational movement to the hasp-engaging loop member. Instead, a substantially U-shaped loop mem' ber has its ends slidably connected to the mounting plate and coupled to the manually operable latch member by means of a link member and has on its arms cam surfaces which cooperate with cams on the mounting plate for imparting rotational movement to the loop member as the loop member is caused to slide on the mounging plate. The draw bolt of Budzyn is constructed of a minimum number of parts, there being but five essential parts related to one another in a manner to fur nish a sturdy construction with no projecting parts and with the means for automatically controlling the movement of the loop member concealed and protected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a primary object of the invention to provide a draw bolt of simplified construction for imparting both translational and rotational movement to a loop member for automatically and completely engaging or disengaging a hasp, with the means for automatically controlling the movement being Concealed and protected.

Pursuant to the foregoing primary objective, another object of the invention is to provide a draw bolt wherein cooperable means provided by the loop member and the mounting plate function for slidably connecting the loop member to the mounting plate and for causing the loop member to rotate about one of its ends as the loop member is moved with respect to the mounting plate by the latch member.

A further object of the invention is to provide a draw bolt wherein the latch member directly contacts the loop member for controlling the position of the loop member with respect to the mounting plate. As a result, the need for a link member for coupling the latch member to the loop member is'eliminated, thereby affording a reduction in the cost of making the draw bolt.

A draw bolt made in accordance with the invention comprises a mounting plate having rail means with a first portion which is substantially planar and a second portion which slopes upwardly from the first portion toward the hasp side of the mounting plate. A manually operable latch member has one of its ends pivotally connected to the mounting plate, and is cooperable with a loop member which is adapted to engage a hasp. The loop member and the mounting plate include cooperable means for slidably connecting the loop member to the rail means on the mounting plate. When the latch member is in lowered position, the loop member is slidably connected to the first portion of the rail means for holding the loop member in latched position. When the latch member is in the raised position, the

loop member is slidably connected to the second portion of the rail means for holding the loop member in an unlatched position which is inclined with respect to the latched position of the loop member. A spring member may be provided for releasably maintaining the latch member in either one of the first and second positions. Also, the latch member may include means for releasably locking the latch member to the mounting plate.

The above-mentioned objects and other advantages and improved results of the invention will be apparent form the following detailed description of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a draw bolt made in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal, vertical, cross-section view taken approximately in the plane of line 22 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal, vertical, cross-section view taken approximately in the plane of line 33 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a transverse, vertical, cross-section view taken approximately in the plane of line 4-4 in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 5 7 are transverse, vertical cross-section views taken approximately in the plane of line 5-5 in FIG. 1, showing the relationships of the parts of the draw bolt in different stages of operation as the latch member is moved to the raised position.

FIG. 8 is a top view of the device with the latch member omitted for clarity of illustration and the mounting plate and loop member only partially shown, this view showing the locking bolt in locked position.

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8, except that the locking bolt is shown in unlocked position.

DESCRIPION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, a draw bolt A is cooperable with a hasp B, the draw bolt comprising a mounting plate C, a loop member D slidably connected to the mounting plate for engaging the hasp, and a latch mem ber E pivotally connected to the mounting plate for controlling the position of the loop member with respect to the mounting plate. For convenience of manufacture and assembly, the hasp, mounting plate, loop member and latch member are preferably made by die casting these parts.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, the hasp B may be of usual or known construction and may comprise a base portion 10 having an upstanding boss 12 thereon. A longitudinally extending projecting portion 14 is provided on the side of the boss opposite the side which will face the draw bolt. Hasp B further includes means in the form of spaced studs 16 and I8 projecting downwardly from base 10 for attaching the hasp to a luggage case section or the like.

Referring to FIG. 3, mounting plate C includes a base portion 20 having spaced studs 22 and 24 extending downwardly therefrom for attaching the monnting plate C to the other of the luggage case sections or the like. As best shown in FIG. 9, mounting plate C further includes a planar top wall portion 26 from which extend a pair of rails 29 and 30, which are supported by side walls 32 and 34 of the mounting plate and which terminate at rear wall 36 of the mounting plate. Guide rails 28 and 30 include first portions 28a and 30a respectively which are coplanar with the planar surface 26 of the mounting plate, and second portions 281) and 30b which slope upwardly from respective portions 28a and 30a toward the hasp side of the mounting plate, as best shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. As shown in FIG, 4, an enlongated, curved wall 38 extends horizontally from wall section 36 and then downwardly in the direction of mounting studs 22 and 24 and cooperates with rear wall 36 to form an elongated open bearing recess 40. A small rectangular wall portion 42 extends perpendicularly from the vertical section of wall 38 for forming a stop surface, the function of which will be discussed later.

Referring to FIG. 1, loop member D is a closed loop having four sides 44, 46, 48 and 50. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, loop member D further comprises a cross-member 52 connecting sides 44 and 46 of the loop member and dividing the loop member into two generally U-shaped loop sections. Loop member D slidably connected to mounting plate C in such a manner that actuation of the latch member E imparts the desired translational and rotational movement of the loop member. The manner in which loop member D is slidably attached to the mounting plate C will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 8.

Referring to FIG. 8, side 50 of loop member D includes two laterally spaced pads or feet 54 and 56 provided on the underside of the loop member and positioned in the plane of wall portion 26 and the aligned rail portions 28a and 30a of the mounting plate. Extending downwardly from pads 54 and 56 are two spaced connecting studs 60 and 62 respectively, which are received by openings 64 and 66 in an elongated washer 68 and are headed over for securing the washer to the loop member. As shown in FIG. 8, the top surface of washer 68 cooperates with the bottom surface of side 50 of loop member D for slidably connecting loop member D to rails 28 and 30 of the mounting plate throughout movement of the loop member from the latched position shown in FIG. 4 to the unlatched position shown in FIG. 7, and vice-versa.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, latch member E includes a pivot pin portion 70 which is received by the open recess bearing 40 of mounting plate C for pivotally connecting the latch member to the mounting plate. The latch member further comprises a main body portion 72 from which extends an elongated projecting portion 74, which is manually grippable for rotating the latch member E about the axis of pivot pin portion 70, and two side portions 76 and 78, both of which side portions are shown in cross-section in FIGS. 2 and 3. As shown in FIG. 2, pivot pin portion 70 extends between side portions 76 and 78 of the latch member.

A leaf spring 80 is provided for releasably maintaining latch member E in either its lowered position or its raised-position. As shown in FiG. 6, leaf spring 80 includes an opening 82 through which extends a stud 84, the stud being headed over to securely fasten the leaf spring to the latch member. When the latch member E is in its lowered position, shown in FIG. 4, the end of leaf spring 80, which is substantially unflexed in this position, contacts the upper surface 86 of rear wall 36 of the mounting plate. As the latch member E is rotated from the lowered position shown in FIG. 4 toward the raised position, the end of leaf spring 80 remains in contact with surface 86 and is caused to flex, thereby resiliently resisting the upward movement of the latch member, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. When the latch member has been rotated to its raised position, shown in FIG. 7, the end of leaf spring 80 contacts the rear surface 88 of rear wall 36 and again is in a substantially unflexed condition. Consequently, any subsequent rotation of the latch member toward its lowered position will be resiliently opposed by the leaf spring.

Latch member E may further include means for locking the latch member to the mounting plate C. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, main body 72 of the latch member may support a key barrel 90 and a rotatable locking bolt 92. As is most clearly shown in FIG. 3, the key barre] and locking bolt are maintained in opening 94 of main body 72 by the action of spring 80, which includes an opening 95 through which extends the rotatable locking bolt 92. Referring to FIGS. 4, 8, and 9, locking bolt 92 includes a projecting portion 96 which is coop erable with the underside of surface 26 of the mounting plate for effecting locking therebetween in the following manner. When projecting portion 96 is positioned under surface 26 of the mounting plate, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, the latch member is locked thereto. For insuring that protruding portion 96 is positioned in the locked position when the locking bolt by means of a key is rotated clockwise, a surface 98 is provided on washer 68 for abutting projection 96 and stopping rotation of the locking bolt when the bolt has assumed the locked position. To place the locking bolt 92 in its unlocked position, the locking bolt is rotated counterclockwise by a key until projecting portion 96 abuts stop wall 42, as shown in FIG. 9.

Operation of the draw bolt A will now be described with reference to FIGS. 4 8. With latch member E in its lowered position, shown in FIG. 4, surface 100 on side 76 of latch member E, abuts side 50 of loop member D, as does a corresponding surface on side 78, not shown. At the same time, side 48 of the loop member engages the base portion and projecting portion 14 of the hasp B for securely latching the draw bolt thereto. Furthermore, cross-member 52 of the loop member overlies the junction of base portion 10 of hasp B and base portion 20 of mounting plate C overlies the pivoting end of latch member E for thereby providing an aesthetically pleasing configuration 0f latched draw bolt A and hasp B. As latch member E is rotated toward its raised position, as shown in FIG. 5, the upper surface 102 of latch member E is brought into contact with the cross-member 52 of the loop member D. Further rotation of latch member E imparts sliding movement to the loop member by the action of surface 102 of the latch member and the crossmember. The movement of loop member D until it reaches the position shown in FIG. 6 is solely translational and has no rotational component because planar rail portions 28a and 30a of mounting plate C are held between the bottom surface of side 50 of the loop member and the planar top surface of washer 68, thereby aligning the loop member with the planar portions 28a and 30a of the mounting plate, as shown in FIGS. 4 6 and 8.

As latch member E is further rotated toward its raised position, the interaction of cross-member 52 of the loop member and surface 102 of the latch member causes loop member D and washer 68 to move from engagement with rail portions 28a and 30a into engagement with rail portions 28b and'30b of the mounting plate C, as shown in FIG. 7. As the bottom surface of side 50 of loop member D and the upper surface of washer 68 are thus moved to engage the sloping rail portions 28b and 30b, the loop member D is caused to be rotated upwardly with respect to the mounting plate for aligning the loop member with those rail portions. The combination of translational and rotational movement imparted to the loop member D causes side 48 of the loop member to move outwardly and upwardly with rspect to the hasp B, thereby completely disengaging the loop member from the hasp. Although it is preferred that rail portions 28b and 30b be planar surfaces, it will be apparent that these rail portions may have any shape which will cause the loop member to move upwardly away from the hasp as the latch member is moved to its raised position. For example, the second portions of the rails may be curvilinear and sloping upwardly from the first portions of the rails toward the hasp side of the mounting plate.

To cause loop member D to engage the hasp B, the latch member E is rotated from its raised position toward its lowered position. During the first part of this rotational movement of the latch member, loop member D remains stationary in its unlatched position shown in FiG. 7. However, when the latch member reaches the dotted line position shown in FIG. 7, the curved surface of side 74 and the corresponding surface 101 of side 78, shown in FIG. 3, come into contact with side 50 of the loop member. Further rotation of the latch member causes translational sliding movement of the loop member with respect to rail portions 28b and 30b of the mounting plate. Still further rotation of latch member E causes side 50 of the loop member and the top surface of washer 68 to move from engagement with rail portions 28b and 3012 into engagement with the planar rail portions 28a and 30a of the mounting plate C, thereby imparting both translational and rotational movement to the loop member for causing the loop member to engage the hasp B. Continued rotation of the latch member imparts only translational movement to the loop member for drawing the hasp B toward the draw bolt and into the latched position shown in FIG. 4.

It will further be apparent that loop member D need not form a closed loop. Because the latch member overlies part of side 50 of loop D between the connecting studs 60 and 62, shown in FIG. 8, that part may be omitted without sacrificing the aesthetic configuration of the draw bolt. However, for providing greater strength to the loop member, the closed loop form is preferred.

It is believed that the advantages and improved results furnished by the draw bolt of the invention will be apparent from the foregoing; description of the preferred embodiment thereof. Various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as sought to be defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A draw bolt cooperable with a hasp, the draw bolt comprising:

a mounting plate having rail means with a substantially planar first portion and a second portion sloping from the first portion toward the hasp side of the mounting plate;

a manually operable latch member;

means pivotally connecting one end of the latch member to the mounting plate;

a loop member adapted to embrace a hasp; and

means slidably connecting the loop member to the rail means, the latch member being cooperable with the loop member and being movable to a lowered position wherein the loop member is cooperable with the first portion of the rail means to move the loop member to latched position, and the latch member being movable to a raised position wherein the loop member is cooperable with the second portion of the rail means to move the loop member to unlatched position.

2. A draw bolt as set forth in claim 1, wherein the means slidably connecting the loop member to the rail means is washer means connected to stud means on the loop member, the rail means being slidably held between the washer means and the loop member.

3. A draw bolt as set forth in claim 1, wherein the rail means comprises a pair of spaced rails, each rail having a first portion which is substantially planar and a second portion which slopes upwardly from the first portion toward the hasp side of the mounting plate.

4. A draw bolt as set forth in claim 3, wherein the means slidably connecting the loop member to the pair of rails is washer means connected to stud means on the loop member, the pair of rails being slidably held between the washer means and the loop member.

5. A draw bolt as set forth in claim 1, wherein the loop member is a closed loop having a cross-member connecting two opposite sides thereof and dividing the loop member into two loop sections, the latch member extending through one of the loop sections and being cooperable with the one loop section for causing the loop member to be cooperable with the first portion of the rail means when the latch member is in the lowered position, and the latch member being cooperable with the cross-member for causing loop member to be cooperable with the second portion of the rail means when the latch member is in the raised position.

6. A draw bolt as set forth in claim 5 further including a spring member connected to the latch member and cooperable with the mounting plate for releasably maintaining the latch member in either one of the raised and lowered positions.

7. A draw bolt as set forth in claim 5, wherein the means pivotally connecting one end of the latch member to the mounting plate comprises a pivot pin portion provided by the latch member and an open bearing re-v cess provided by the mounting plate having the pivot pin positioned therein.

8. A draw bolt as set forth in claim 5, including a key barrel and locking bolt supported by the latch member and cooperable with the mounting plate for releasably locking the latch member to the mounting plate.

9. A draw bolt as set forth in claim 5, wherein the rail means comprises a pair of spaced rails, each having a substantially planar first portion and a second portion sloping upwardly from the first portion toward the hasp side of the mounting plate.

10. A draw bolt as set forth in claim 9, wherein the means provided by the loop member for slidably connecting the loop member to the pair of rails is washer means connected to stud means on the loop member, the pair of rails being slidably held between the washer means and the loop member.

11. A draw bolt as set forth in claim 8, including a key barrel and locking bolt supported by the latch memberand cooperable with the mounting plate for releasably locking the latch member to the mounting plate, the washer means being cooperable with the locking bolt for limiting rotation of the locking bolt in a first direction to a locked position.

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK UFFICE QERTIFEQA'EE @F CQRREQTEGN' PATENT NO. 1 3 5 407 DATED May 27, 1975 INVENTOMS} Irving Feinberg is cez'tified that error appears in the ab0veidentified patent and that saia Letters Patent i ei'eby EOI'FQCiBd as shown below:

Assignee: Presto Lock Company, Division of Walter Kidde & Company,

Inc. Elmwood Park, New Jersey Col. 6, Line 63, before "from" insert upWard1y-.

Signed and Scaled this A nest:

RUTH C. MASON C. MARSHALL DANN Z ffl'l ('nnzmissinnvr ujlatenrs and Trademarks 

1. A draw bolt cooperable with a hasp, the draw bolt comprising: a mounting plate having rail means with a substantially planar first portion and a second portion sloping from the first portion toward the hasp side of the mounting plate; a manually operable latch member; means pivotally connecting one end of the latch member to the mounting plate; a loop member adapted to embrace a hasp; and means slidably connecting the loop member to the rail means, the latch member being cooperable with the loop member and being movable to a lowered position wherein the loop member is cooperable with the first portion of the rail means to move the loop member to latched position, and the latch member being movable to a raised position wherein the loop member is cooperable with the second portion of the rail means to move the loop member to unlatched position.
 2. A draw bolt as set forth in claim 1, wherein the means slidably connecting the loop member to the rail means is washer means connected to stud means on the loop member, the rail means being slidably held between the washer means and the loop member.
 3. A draw bolt as set forth in claim 1, wherein the rail means comprises a pair of spaced rails, each rail having a first portion which is substantially planar and a second portion which slopes upwardly from the first portion toward the hasp side of the mounting plate.
 4. A draw bolt as set forth in claim 3, wherein the means slidably connecting the loop member to the pair of rails is washer means connected to stud means on the loop member, the pair of rails being slidably held between the washer means and the loop member.
 5. A draw bolt as set forth in claim 1, wherein the loop member is a closed loop having a cross-member connecting two opposite sides thereof and dividing the loop member into two loop sections, the latch member extending through one of the loop sections and being cooperable with the one loop section for causing the loop member to be cooperable with the first portion of the rail means when the latch member is in the lowered position, and the latch member being cooperable with the cross-member for causing loop member to be cooperable with the second portion of the rail means when the latch member is in the raised position.
 6. A draw bolt as set forth in claim 5 further including a spring member connected to the latch member and cooperable with the mounting plate for releasably maintaining the latch member in either one of the raised and lowered positions.
 7. A draw bolt as set forth in claim 5, wherein the means pivotally connecting one end of the latch member to the mounting plate comprises a pivot pin portion provided by the latch member and an open bearing recess provided by the mounting plate having the pivot pin positioned therein.
 8. A draw bolt as set forth in claim 5, including a key barrel and locking bolt supported by the latch member and cooperable with the mounting plate for releasably locking the latch member to the mounting plate.
 9. A draw bolt as set forth in claim 5, wherein tHe rail means comprises a pair of spaced rails, each having a substantially planar first portion and a second portion sloping upwardly from the first portion toward the hasp side of the mounting plate.
 10. A draw bolt as set forth in claim 9, wherein the means provided by the loop member for slidably connecting the loop member to the pair of rails is washer means connected to stud means on the loop member, the pair of rails being slidably held between the washer means and the loop member.
 11. A draw bolt as set forth in claim 8, including a key barrel and locking bolt supported by the latch member and cooperable with the mounting plate for releasably locking the latch member to the mounting plate, the washer means being cooperable with the locking bolt for limiting rotation of the locking bolt in a first direction to a locked position. 